Morkili

This is quick, easy, simple, and comfort meal as well as snack that can be made with pantry essentials! This is made with rice flour and sour yogurt and it takes about 8-10 minutes cooking time. It fits if you want a quick fix for a easy weeknight meal or when you crave for delicious nostalgic favorite! The flavors are a medley of salt, spicy, pungent, and sour and these are balanced in such a way that it is addictive to your taste buds.

This morkili brings lots of childhood memories. This is a common snack or tiffin in our households. Moms and grandmoms whip up this bite sized squares of this yummy dish in a jiffy. We used to have half day school during school days and when we come back home, this would be our request to devour and enjoy the rest of the day! It is pure comfort! Like me, I know there are thousands of people who love this amazing morkili. This is often made in our home and I make two other versions similar to this. My mom is the guru for these recipes!

The star of this recipe is rice flour. Rice is a carbohydrate rich food that gives quick energy. I do not like to avoid since it is carb rich. Body needs good carbs for effective functioning and immediate fuel requirements for the body as carbs fire up quickly. Everything in moderation is good and that's my mantra. There are many rice flour based recipes like this Mani Kozhukattai and I made them with moong usli and spicy podi version. Akki or arisi rotis are common in south and this Akki Roti with fresh mochai is a classic one! Ok, back to morkili. As the temperature rises, so does the sourness of yogurt. Homemade fresh yogurt turns sour quickly with temperature and that's also a reason why our grandmas make these often.

Along with rice flour and sour yogurt, mor milagai and asafetida adds to the amazing flavor of this morkili. If you are wondering what is a mor milagai, then it is dried peppers that are soaked in buttermilk. The procedure is repeated for a few days and then completely dried and stored. These are then fried and used as a pickle for curd rice or in seasonings for some recipes like this morkili. Do not miss that. But if you do not have this, substitute with regular dried red chilies and that will give a delicious flavor too. Asafetida adds a little pungency and aids digestion, so do not skimp on that.

This comfort food made with rice flour gets ready with 5 minute prep time and 10 minute cook time. So this is a winner for quick fix meals and easy snack for weekends. This rice based dish is so comforting that I wanted to share in my blog when Priya suggested about rice flour recipes in our Foodie Monday blog group. She has an amazing blog and drool worthy traditional recipes. When I saw her Vazhakkai Bajji, I should admit that it brought back some memories of having vazhakkai bajji with my family back home. I grew up having rice and rice based dishes and this one is an amazing dish that can please anyone. Hence the choice of the day to share!

Ingredients

Rice flour - 1 cup

Sour yogurt - 1 cup

Water - 3 cups

Salt - 1 tsp plus 2 pinches

Tempering

Sesame oil - 3 to 4 tbsp

Mor milagai - 5 to 6, torn

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Split urad dal - 1 tsp

Curry leaf - 1 spring

Asafetida - 1/4 tsp

Method

To a bowl add the yogurt, whisk, then add the water and whisk to get a smooth buttermilk.

Add the rice flour and slat and whisk to make a lump-free batter

Heat oil in a pan over medium flame, add the torn mor milagai and mustard seeds. When it splutters add the split urad dal, followed by curry leaves and asafetida and fry for a minute.

Add the rice flour-buttermilk mixture and stir continuously,  to ensure that it doesn't result in a big mass. 

After 5 minutes, it will begin to swirl around but keep cooking.

In about 8-9 minutes, the mixture would have thickened well and when you touch with wet hands, it won't stick to your hand. That is the test for doneness.

Transfer to a greased plate, spread evenly. cool for a few minutes.

Cut into squares and serve the delicious morkili.